NOTES. 301 



doubt that the eggs are sometimes deposited before the end 

 of March. It is, in fact, the earliest of the finches to breed in 

 Ireland. In 1886 I did not obtain eggs, although I found nests 

 in May, and in the following year was disappointed, if also 

 greatly interested, to find a Siskin's nest with five young 

 several days old on April 29th. A short time after I was 

 compensated by finding several other nests, two of which I 

 took, with five eggs each. In 1889 I found two nests on April 

 9th, one of which contained three eggs, and was at a height 

 of twelve feet in a spruce, while the other was only partially 

 built, and was about fifteen feet from the ground in the end of 

 a lower branch of a big Scotch fir. The hen bird always 

 gathered her materials at some distance, and flew with them 

 direct to the nest, accompanied by her mate, which sang and 

 twittered gaily, but took no part in building or collecting 

 materials. These consisted of green moss from tree-trunks 

 or from the ground, and sometimes small twigs from the tree- 

 tops. On April 19th I took this nest, with four eggs, which 

 with the parent birds, forms one of the well-known series in 

 the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. Another 

 nest, taken two days later, was fifty feet from the ground in 

 a thick spruce-fir, and quite invisible from below. On April 

 15th, 1893, I found a Siskin's nest near the top of a spruce, 

 with four young about three days old, leaving no doubt that 

 in this case the clutch was complete by the end of March. 



In my experience clutches of five eggs are quite usual, and 

 more than one-third of those mentioned by Mr. H. Hunter 

 are of that number, so that it is difficult to understand why 

 he calls such clutches the exception. I consider five nearly 

 as common as four, but have never seen a completed clutch of 

 three. It is curious that I, too, have noticed antagonism 

 between this bird and the Chaffinch when building, though 

 I have observed the Siskin stealing materials from the Chaf- 

 finch's nest, and not vice versa. I have found Siskins' nests 

 in conifers exclusively, the following being the order of 

 frequency : spruce, Scotch fir, larch, Douglas fir, deodar, 

 silver fir. I have found the nests at various heights from ten 

 to fifty feet or more, generally near the end of a lateral branch, 

 but in several cases at the top of a tree, against the leader and 

 resting on the small side branches. Although the nest is often 

 quite invisible from the ground, the bird's habit of flying 

 direct to it, twittering loudly meanwhile, often leads to its 

 discovery. In fine genial weather in the breeding-season the 

 Siskin is remarkably joyous and lively, its song and clear call- 

 notes forcing it on the observer's notice ; but if the weather be 



